In my last post, I pointed out that Karlheinz Schreiber is so desperate to avoid returning to Germany that his allegations involving Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper could be seen as a calculated effort designed to manipulate Canadian authorities into denying German authorities their extradition request, and thus less than credible.

The Liberals have been intensely pursuing the question of the relationship between Brian Mulroney and Karlheinz Schreiber. This is not a fortuitous coincidence working in Schreiber's favour. The Liberals and Schreiber are formal allies, as is being reported in the Canadian Press:

Oops! Liberals, NDP received Schreiber documents on Harper but didn't react
By Jennifer Ditchburn

"For months the government has known about very serious allegations concerning former prime minister Brian Mulroney. It received hundreds of pages on the whole affair. The Prime Minister even received personal letters from Mr. Schreiber,'' Liberal Leader Stephane Dion told the Commons.

"The government did nothing for months. Why?''

Schreiber has been in frequent contact with the Liberals, trying to find allies in his fight against extradition to Germany where he faces fraud, bribery and tax evasion charges. He has become something of a technical adviser to the party on the Mulroney affair.

[Liberal MP Robert Thibault] in particular has met with Schreiber for lunches and coffees in Ottawa to discuss his case, and spoke to him as recently as Tuesday morning about the ongoing controversy. He first contacted Schreiber's lawyer last spring, when details of the $300,000 cash payments to Mulroney surfaced.

Doesn't Thibault realize that Schreiber is motivated by self-preservation?

"I know what he's trying to gain, he's fighting his extradition and he wants to remain in Canada,'' said Thibault.

So what does the do to Karlheinz Schreiber's credibility? For the Liberals, it doesn't matter at all:

"I want him to remain in Canada, I want him to testify on these matters and I want there to be a full public inquiry.''

The problem, as I see it, is that Karlheinz Schreiber comes off as a bit intense:

Schreiber's letters outlining his grievances against the federal government and his accusers are often long and extremely detailed, with large sections underlined for emphasis. He attaches articles and court documents, and in the case of his recent mail-out, photocopies of a signed photograph sent to him by Mulroney.

Stephane Dion ought to be careful. If the Liberal Party ends up being embarrassed by Schreiber, it is hard to imagine how Stephane Dion could remain as leader. Remember that it is not likely that Karlheinz Schreiber really cares if his allegations are proven wrong. All he cares about is staying Canada for as long as possible, ideally frustrating German authorities to the point that they give up on extraditing Schreiber. The goals of the Liberal Party don't matter much to him, and if those goals run counter to his, Schreiber will turn on the Liberals in an instant.

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